Independents are growing as a portion of the electorate. They will decide the coming presidential election. Yet they wield little influence in the primaries and processes that determine candidates and platforms. Dismayed with the options presented to them, they strengthen conviction in their independence, thereby weakening their say upon candidates and platforms even further. Their rising disaffection brings increasing disenfranchisement.

What are the independents seeking? And how might they escape their plight?

Who is the partisan independent?

He or she is the “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” voter who, dismayed with both the Democratic and Republican parties, disavowals partisan allegiance. This independent position may come with a sense of pride; may come with a sense of despair. Howsoever it comes, it comes with sufficient frequency that these voters compose a distinct segment within the electorate. They are, in the parlance of the professional pollsters, the “persuadables.”